Northern Red Oak or Red Oak

(Fagaceae - Beech Family)

Form

• large shade tree
• maturing at about 60' tall by 80' wide under urban conditions, but much larger in the wild
• upright oval growth habit in youth, becoming rounded to spreading with age
• medium growth rate

Culture

• full sun to partial sun (partial shade tolerant in youth)
• performs best in full sun in moist, deep, acidic, well-drained soils, but is very adaptable to poor soils, dry soils, and soils of various pH
• propagated by seeds
• Beech Family, with no serious diseases or pests
• commonly available in ball and burlap form and increasingly in container form
• member of the Red Oak group; some of these members may hybridize freely in the wild, resulting in a blending of such traits as leaf shape and fruit size
• Northern Red Oak is very sensitive to being transplanted in Autumn, and care should be taken to amend the soil, fertilize, water thoroughly, mulch adequately, and avoid Winter salt spray, to enhance survival chances during the first Winter, if transplanting cannot be delayed until Spring

Foliage

• shiny dark green, alternate, with an overall shape that is obovate and about 7" long, with 7 to 11 prominent bristle-tipped lobes (identifying it as belonging to the Red Oak Group), with each lobe incised and with a deep sinus on each side, having a 1.5" long petiole that turns a distinctive yellow or red by mid-Summer
• fall color is usually brick red to scarlet and very attractive (but may on occasion be brown-red to yellowish-brown in poor years)

Flowers

• yellow-brown pendulous male catkins are obvious and prominent in late April, but are ornamentally insignificant, as are the very small pistillate flowers

Fruits

• a relatively large oval acorn (1" long) that matures over two seasons, with a wide cap that covers the upper one-fourth of the nut, on a very short peduncle and either single or in pairs, but clustered on the second year wood and often with a heavy mast crop (abundant fruit production)

Twigs

• greenish- to reddish-brown, turning gray by the second year and somewhat stout

Trunk

• dark gray to black, being lightly furrowed with flat-topped subtle ridges through middle age, and becoming deeply furrowed with a light reddish interior bark in old age
• branches arising directly from the trunk are relatively few, but large, adding to the bold texture by their size, and by exposing the large trunk more than most Oaks
• wood is reddish-brown

ID Summary

• Red Oak is the standard-bearer of the Red Oak group, being very abundant in northern forests; in open landscapes, it has an upright growth habit in youth that spreads dramatically and gracefully with age
• branches are relatively few from the trunk as compared to other Oaks, but as a result each tends to be very large, with the lowermost branches being horizontal and quite wide-spreading at maturity, and with the trunk somewhat exposed
• leaves are relatively large and shiny dark green, with many lobes that are incised and bristle-tipped, having yellow or red petioles and fall color that is usually brick red
• fruits are relatively large acorns that mature over a two-year period, with caps covering the upper quarter of the fruit, and are often present in copious amounts in Autumn

USAGE

Function

• shade tree for large lawns, parks, golf courses, corporate centers, or naturalized areas
• valuable timber tree, with its wood prized for beams, boards, railroad ties, and furniture

Texture

• bold texture in foliage and when bare
• average density in foliage but open density when bare

Assets

• one of the most rapidly growing and vigorous Oaks
• good brick-red fall color
• the most bold-textured member of the Red Oak group
• urban tolerant in general, especially to dry sites
• one of the best Oaks for transplant success
• abundant nuts attract wildlife (large birds, deer, and especially squirrels)
• valuable timber tree

Liabilities

• fruit litter with maturity

Habitat

• zones 5 to 8
• native to the Eastern United States

SELECTIONS

Alternates

• large shade trees (Acer saccharum, Fagus sylvatica, Liriodendron tulipifera, Quercus shumardii, Zelkova serrata, etc.)
• trees for dry sites (Celtis occidentalis, Gleditsia triacanthos, Fraxinus pennsylvanica, Quercus alba, Quercus macrocarpa, etc.)
• wildlife attraction hardwood trees (members of the genera Fagus, Carpinus, Carya, Nyssa, Quercus, etc.)
• trees with good fall color (Acer rubrum, Acer saccharum, Fraxinus americana, Nyssa sylvatica, Quercus coccinea, Ulmus parvifolia, Zelkova serrata, etc.)

Variants

• straight species is the available form

NOTES

Translation

• Quercus is the Latin name for Oak.
• rubra translates as "red", referring to the red fall color, red petioles, or reddish interior wood.
• The common name of Northern Red Oak implies that there is, in fact, a Southern Red Oak (Quercus falcata), which is the predominate member of the Red Oak group in the mid-South.

Purpose

• Northern Red Oak is probably the most common landscape oak of the Midwest, especially in open areas where it can showcase its bold texture and natural spreading habit at maturity.

Summary

• Quercus rubra is known as a large shade tree that thrives in dry sites, often with heavy mast crops and good brick-red fall color, becoming very rounded to spreading with age.